Pacific Union’s April Real Estate Update

April home prices continued to post solid gains across the Bay Area and the Tahoe/Truckee region in April, with the median price for single-family homes reaching $1 million in San Francisco for the first time in more than five years and the median price in Pacific Union’s Sonoma Valley region jumping 65 percent over the past year.

Sales prices exceeded original prices in three of our regions and came within a few percentage points of the original prices almost everywhere else.

Local real estate markets remained tight in April, particularly in our East Bay, Contra Costa County, and San Francisco regions.

CONTRA COSTA COUNTY

Homes sold quickly in Pacific Union’s Contra Costa County region in April – an average of just three weeks on the market, down from more than six weeks on the market a year earlier.

Similarly, the months’ supply of inventory, a measure of how quickly the current supply of homes would be sold at the current sales rate, remained low at 1.1 months. In general, an MSI below 4 is considered a seller’s market, so April’s supply makes it clear that sellers are firmly in control of the market.

The median sales price rose to $760,730, up more than $125,000 from a year ago. And sellers got more than they were asking for in April for the second month in a row. On average homes sold for 1.2.5 percent of their asking price.

EAST BAY

Home prices in our East Bay region shot up 31 percent in April from a year earlier, and sellers received an average of 110.2 percent of their asking prices, marking a full year of sales prices exceeding asking prices.

The price gains were aided by the East Bay’s continued tight real estate market. Homes in Oakland and neighboring communities were No. 1 in the nation for most of 2012 for fewest days on the market. That counter has continued to decline in 2013, falling to 18 days on the market in April.

The inventory of homes on the market also slipped to a 1-month supply, the second-lowest reading in a year.

MARIN COUNTY

The median sales price of Marin County homes reached $950,000 in April, up 23 percent from a year ago after four straight months of steadily rising prices. Sales prices averaged 99 percent of asking prices, the highest level in more than a year.

The inventory of homes on the market edged higher to a 1.6 month supply but remained far below the 2.6-month supply of a year ago.

Sales agreements were reached after an average of just 49 days on the market, down from a high of 102 days in January and 72 days in March 2012.

NAPA COUNTY

Home sales in Pacific Union’s Napa County region followed familiar trajectories in all measurements in April: Prices rose solidly, with many homes selling above their asking prices, while the supply of available homes and average days on the market continued to fall.

The median sales price reached $460,000, up from $352,000 a year ago, and sellers received 97.2 percent of their asking prices, on average. That’s up from 89.6 percent of asking prices a year earlier.

The inventory of available homes fell to 2.4 months’ supply, almost half the supply one year ago. The average days on the market for Napa County homes fell to 90, the lowest level in at least a year.

SAN FRANCISCO, CONDOMINIUMS

The supply of condominiums on the market in San Francisco rose solidly in January and February, reaching a 1.9-month supply, but the gain was short-lived. The supply fell to 1.2 months in March and continued sliding in April to 1 month.

Condos lasted an average of just 40 days on the market before a sale was pending, the second-lowest level in a year’s time. In April 2012 the days on the market averaged 70 days.

The median sales price for condos was $912,500, a big jump up from $730,250 a year ago. Sales prices averaged nearly 5 percent above asking prices.

SAN FRANCISCO, SINGLE-FAMILY HOMES

The median sales price for single-family homes in San Francisco reached $1 million in April, the highest level in more than five years and a big jump from just three months ago when the median sales price was $748,000.

Sellers also enjoyed a sales premium of more than 8 percent above asking prices.

Homes sold after an average of 32 days on the market, down from 58 days in December and 54 days a year ago. The inventory of available homes remained near the lowest levels in several years at 1.3 months’ supply.

SONOMA COUNTY

Median sales prices have been climbing steadily in our Sonoma County region, rising in 10 of the last 12 months to $437,500.

Sales prices ranged from 92.1 percent t0 96.2 percent of original prices over the past year and averaged 95.3 percent in April.

Like neighboring counties, the months’ supply of inventory fell by nearly one-half over that past year, down to a 1.6-months’ supply in April. Homes spent an average of 78 days on the market last month, down from 106 days a year ago.

SONOMA VALLEY

Home prices in our Sonoma Valley region spiked in April, up a remarkable 65 percent over the past year to a median price of $605,000.

Sales prices averaged 97.3 percent of original prices .

The months’ supply of inventory stood at 2.7 in April, far below the 3.9 months’ supply a year earlier. The average days on the market fell to 61, , down from a high of 144 in May 2012.

TAHOE/TRUCKEE, CONDOMINIUMS

Median sales prices for condos in our Tahoe/Truckee region fluctuated throughout the past year , rising in seven months and declining in five months. The median price ended April at $320,000, down from $377,000 the month before but solidly higher than the $228,000 recorded in June 2012.

Sellers received 95.5 percent of their asking prices in April, the highest level in at least a year.

Homes typically remain for sale longer in Tahoe/Truckee than in the Bay Area, owing to the region’s vacation-home market, and condos in April remained on the market an average of 164 days. The months’ supply of inventory more than doubled from March to April, reaching an 18-month supply.

TAHOE/TRUCKEE, SINGLE-FAMILY HOMES

The median sales price for single-family homes in Tahoe/Truckee reached $517,000 in April after rising three straight months from a low of $399,000.

Sales prices averaged 93.4 percent of asking prices in April, up from a low of 83.3 percent in February.

The supply of inventory stood at 4.3 months in April, and days on the market averaged 91, down from 198 days on the market in February.

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